The Rangers Guild Immersion:
Wilderness Survival, Tracking & The Curriculum of Shadows
Spend 1-year learning outdoors. In our Rangers Guild Immersion you study ancient ways of Tracking, Wilderness Survival and Invisibility and Awareness. Experienced instructors guide you through our Rangers Guild and its three core studies.
Tracking Every 1st weekend of the month for 9-months, Cultivate intensive awareness skills. Learn to trail any animal or human across any terrain while delving deep into natural history and ecology.
Survival Every 2nd weekend of the month for 9-months, Develop craftsmanship in primitive arts and technology. Learn to adapt to any environment while finding shelter, water, fire and food.
The Curriculum of Shadows Every 3rd weekend of the month for 9-months, Discover an invisible world while following the shadows of the forest. Become and expert in the art, flow and philosophy of camouflage that forges a strong connection to land and community.
You Decide, You Choose
Decide to attend one, two or three weekends a month. Each weekend focuses on a core study. For example, you only have to attend the Wilderness Survival weekend if that is your focus.
The Trackers Homestead
Class takes place on the Trackers Homestead, 40 acres of incredible Pacific Northwest forest on the southern edge of the Bull Run watershed and adjacent to a 90 acre wildlife sanctuary.
A Ranger
Our Way of the Ranger curriculum is different than other outdoor skills schools, especially those that focus on "push survival".
You join a supportive learning community. Students become ambassadors for a culture that needs to exist, one that calls for sustainability and living with the land. In this program you study ancient ways of living. What you learn dramatically shifts your relationship with the land and wilderness.
Register for Wilderness Survival, Tracking or The Curriculum of Shadows
Tracking
September 2012-June 2013,
9 monthly weekends,
Fri evening to Sun |
Survival
September 2012-June 2013,
9 monthly weekends,
Fri evening to Sun |
Shadows
September 2012-June 2013,
9 monthly weekends,
Fri evening to Sun |
Tuition*
Tuition includes instruction, Saturday dinner and camping for program weekends. Payment options include...
Pay in Full 20% discount
Receive a 20% discount when you pay in full. $500 non-refundable deposit due upon acceptance, then the remaing balance is due by August 31.
Seasonal Payment Plan
Tuition is divided into 3-seasonal terms. Fall term tuition due upon acceptance. Winter term tuition due November 1. Spring term tuition due February 1.
Monthly Payment Plan
A 25% adminstration fee added to total tuition. $500 non-refundable deposit due upon acceptance. Remaining balance divided equally into
9-monthly payments.
*all tuition deposits and payments are non-refundable
1 Core Study 1-weekend a month for 9-months Tuition 2549
2 Core Studies 2-weekends a month for 9-months Tuition 4999
Full Program: 3 Core Studies 3-weekends a month for 9-months Tuition 6749
Immersion That Fits Your Life
Our Weekend Immersion Programs integrate well into your working and personal life. Each weekend begins Friday evening and ends Sunday afternoon. Most weekends take place within a one-hour drive from Portland, Oregon and PDX Airport (an international terminal). Each Core Study occurs monthly, so there is time for students to self-utilize and refine experience in the skills we teach.
Scholarships
We have scholarship awards available for students in need. Due to limited funds of awards we recommend you apply early. Submit a scholarship application
We also have an scholarship option for people specifically training for environmental education. Learn more about our Environmental Educator Training Program
The Rangers Guild
When you join the Rangers Guild you choose from one or all of its 3-core studies.
Animal Tracking Every 1st weekend of the month for 9-months, Cultivate intensive awareness skills. Learn to trail any animal or human across any terrain while delving deep into natural history and ecology.
Wilderness Survival Every 2nd weekend of the month for 9-months, Develop craftsmanship in primitive arts and technology. Learn to adapt to any environment while finding shelter, water, fire and food.
The Curriculum of Shadows Every 3rd weekend of the month for 9-months, Discover an invisible world while following the shadows of the forest. Become and expert in the art, flow and philosophy of camouflage that forges a strong connection to land and community.
Animal Tracking Schedule
Identification and Gaits September 14-16, 2012
The Rut: Trailing Deer and Elk October 5-7, 2012
Sign Tracking and Trail Profiles November 2-4, 2012
Snowshoeing and Snow Tracking January 4-6, 2013
Man Tracking and Traps February 1-3, 2013
Predators: Territories of Cougars, Bear and Bobcats March 1-3, 2013
Hunting the Foragers April 5-7, 2013
Teaching Tracking: Oregon Dunes Expedition May 3-5, 2013
Program Graduation May 31-June 2, 2013
Wilderness Survival Schedule
Shelter and Fire Making September 21-23, 2012
Bowmaking and Archery October 12-14, 2012
Butchering a Goat November 9-11, 2012
Animal Tracking, Hunting and Trapping January 11-13, 2013
Hide Tanning plus Bone and Stone Tools February 8-10, 2013
Knifesmithing: Forge and Fire March 8-10, 2013
Bowmaking and Archery Apprenticeship April 12-14, 2013
Baskets and Containers May 10-12, 2013
Program Graduation May 31-June 2, 2013
The Curriculum of Shadows Schedule
The Plan: Defensive Strategy and Awareness September 28-30, 2012
Our Web: Invisibility and Stealth of the Shadows October 19-21, 2012
Death: The Indomitable Spirit November 16-18, 2012
Rooted: Martial Arts and Weapons Training January 18-20, 2013
The Edge: Social Tactical February 15-17, 2013
Being Useful: The Web of Shadows March 15-17, 2013
Emergent Properties: Cultivating the Shadow April 19-21, 2013
The Plan Revisited May 17-19, 2013
Program Graduation May 31-June 2, 2013
Legend of the Rangers Guild
The Rangers are hunters and scouts for the village. They are versed in the arts of wilderness survival, tracking and awareness. In their listening they find a silence, one that compels them to protect what is Wild.
Flow is the Way of the Ranger. They follow the trail of the cougar, deer and other animals. With finely honed senses they become the eyes and ears of the village, living completely with the land and tending to it as if an invisible ghost.
The Remembering is here. There was a time you forgot who you were, how it feels to release an arrow, the music of the bowstring resonating, the route of your blood, the path of those who came before.
You felt you were asleep for a long while. The world engined on. And then, one day, you woke up.
We Mentor You
Recognizing many of these skills take profound practice we mentor you beyond the training weekends as you work on completing all of our Rangers Guild Basics within the year.
Tracking Basics
Completing the Tracking Basics means doing 21 lens journals and 4 week-long studies in different substrates in Track Aging Profiles.
☐ 18 lens journals for clear tracks of different wild mammals
☐ 1 lens journals for clear track of a small domestic dog
☐ 1 lens journals for clear track of a large domestic dog
☐ 1 lens journals for clear track of a domestic cat
☐ 1 week-long study Track Aging Profiles in sand or dirt
☐ 1 week-long study Track Aging Profiles in leaf debris
☐ 1 week-long study Track Aging Profiles in debris of choice
☐ 1 week-long study Track Aging Profiles in lawn or meadow
Survival Basics
Completing the Survival Basics means completing 25 different primitive skills based experiences.
☐ demonstration of Trackers knife safety and competency skills
☐ ability to navigate by compass cross country .5 miles
☐ working knowledge of topographical maps
☐ by the sun and a watch pinpoint and walk a straight line South for 500 feet through brush
☐ 6-feet of cordage harvested from natural fibers capable of suspending 5 lbs
☐ sleeping two-nights in an all natural debris shelter with no sleeping bag (not in summer)
☐ one liter of water harvested from dew or solar still
☐ one spring followed all the way to source
☐ one page journal and three water borne illnesses and prevention
☐ boiling 1-liter of water with rocks
☐ lighting one fire with one match in 5-minutes in severely wet conditions
☐ bow-drill coals from each of these materials
-two softwoods (one domestic, one wild harvested)
-two hardwoods (both wild harvested)
☐ one hand-drill coal
☐ arrowheads made from each of these materials
-glass bottle bottom, flakes across all surfaces
-bone or obsidian, only stone tools are used
☐ completion of three quickie survival bows made from different woods (make them pretty)
☐ making a wood eating bowl by coal burning
☐ skinning one small animal (domestic okay)
☐ tanning the hide of one small animal (bark tan)
☐ hitting an 8-inch target 25-feet away with a rabbitstick ten times in a row
☐ hitting an 8-inch target 50-feet away with a bow and arrow set three times in a row
☐ making one simple basket that can hold 1 pound of grass or grain seeds
The Curriculum of Shadows
Completing The Curriculum of Shadows Basics means 25 different invisibility and awareness projects
☐ sit one full day alone sun-up to sun-down in one wild area
☐ camouflage on well-used game trail in minimal clothing for 4-hours
☐ one full day blind-folded (get assistance, don't die or get hurt)
☐ one full day silent
☐ one full day fasting on only water
☐ find your spirit animal (ha, ha, just kidding)
☐ move one full day at half speed
☐ move one morning: sunrise to noon at quarter speed
☐ balance on one foot for 20-minutes (both)
☐ successfully evade advanced Trackers students hunting you within a defined course area for 1-day
☐ one page journal and 10-different localized song birds
☐ ability to mimic 3-bird calls impeccably
☐ develop and teach to instructors 5-different stealth scenario relevant hand signals (keep 'em secret, keep 'em safe)
☐ find and lens journal one set of large predator (over 25 lbs) tracks by bird alarms
☐ feed wild birds eating out of your hand
